GreatBooks

Leader’s Edition

RoundtableLevel 2

Great Books Roundtable™ and Shared Inquiry™ are trademarks of the Great Books Foundation.

The contents of this publication include proprietary trademarks and copyrighted materials

and may be used or quoted only with permission and appropriate credit to the Foundation.

Copyright © 2010 by The Great Books Foundation

Chicago, Illinois

All rights reserved

ISBN 978-1-933147-51-2

2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3 1

Printed in Hong Kong

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Great books roundtable. Level 2. — Leader’s ed.

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN 978-1-933147-51-2 (alk. paper)

1. Reading (Middle school)—United States. 2. Reading comprehension—United States.

3. Children—Books and reading—United States. I. Great Books Foundation (U.S.)

LB1632.G74 2009c

428.4071'2—dc22

2009026930

Cover art and frontispiece illustrations by Rich Lo. Copyright © 2010 by Rich Lo.

Cover and interior design by Academic Design plus Development, Inc.

Published and distributed by

THE GR E AT BOOKS FOU NDATIONA nonprofit educational organization

233 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 420

Chicago, IL 60601

www.greatbooks.org

Program OverviewShared Inquiry: The Great Books Roundtable Method of Learning 1

Great Books Roundtable Features 1

Great Books Roundtable Materials 4

Great Books Roundtable Activities 22

About the Great Books Foundation 26

Tips For DiscussionWorking with Large Classes in Shared Inquiry Discussion 27

Troubleshooting Shared Inquiry Discussion 28

PrefacePreface: Overview 29

Preface 31

Orientation UnitOrientation Unit: Laying the Groundwork 47

The White Umbrella 49Gish Jen

Stage 1Stage 1: Building Proficiency 65

Harrison Bergeron 67Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

The First Day 81Edward P. Jones

Props for Faith (from Floating in My Mother’s Palm) 93Ursula Hegi

El Diablo de La Cienega 111Geoffrey Becker

The Cat and the Coffee Drinkers 135Max Steele

v

Contents

Stage 2Stage 2: Gaining Mastery 155

The Box House and the Snow 159Cristina Henríquez

I Just Kept On Smiling 181Simon Burt

Mercedes Kane 197Elizabeth McCracken

Sandra Street 219Michael Anthony

Day of the Butterfly 235Alice Munro

The White Circle 253John Bell Clayton

Nonfiction: Overview 267

Reading Nonfiction 269

Wolf (from The Unexpected Universe) 271Loren Eiseley

Colter’s Way 281Sebastian Junger

vi

Contents

PoetryPoetry: Interpreting Verse 293

Reading Poetry 297

Harlem [2] 301Langston Hughes

An Irish Airman Foresees His Death 307William Butler Yeats

[n] 311E. E. Cummings

The Fort 317Marie Howe

Bicycles 323Andrei Voznesensky

Snake 329D. H. Lawrence

AppendixesAppendix A: Great Books Roundtable Scope and Sequence 337

Appendix B: Leaders Ask Index 342

Acknowledgments 344

Index 345

vii

Contents

The White UmbrellaGish Jen

A Chinese American girl has trouble accepting that her mother is working to help support the family.

Genre: Fiction Length: 11 pages

Setting: United States Read-Aloud Time: About 18 minutes

About the Author

Born Lillian Jen in 1956, Gish Jen grew up in Scarsdale, New York, and earned a BA at Harvard University and an MFA at the University of Iowa. Her novels Typical American (1991) and Mona in the Promised Land (1996) trace the lives of different members of the Chinese American Chang family, exploring their struggles to adapt to contemporary American culture. Her explorations of ethnic identity continue in the short story collection Who’s Irish? (1999) and the novel The Love Wife (2004). Her stories have also appeared in a number of anthologies and periodicals, including the New Yorker, the Atlantic Monthly, and Best American Short Stories. “The White Umbrella” first appeared in the Yale Review in 1984.

The White Umbrella

49Orientation Unit • The White Umbrella

The White UmbrellaGish Jen

The following guide will aid your unit planning for “The White Umbrella.” All accompanying materials can be found in the Great Books Roundtable Leader’s Materials box.

Session 2 (40–60 minutes)

Sharing Questions (30–40 minutes)

Activity Summary: Students share questions about the text.

Materials: Discussion Planner card 2 Inquiry Log card (student handout) 3 Sharing Questions card 6

Vocabulary (10–20 minutes)

Activity Summary: Students determine word meaning using context and outside sources.

Materials: Vocabulary card (student handout, side 2) 7

Details: Suggested vocabulary words: mechanism, radiant, resumed, revelation, maneuver, diverted, intently

Session 1 (35–55 minutes)

Prereading (5–10 minutes)

Activity Summary: Students briefly discuss a concept relevant to the text they will be reading.

Materials: Inquiry Log card (student handout) 3 Prereading card 4

Details: Ask students one or both of the following:◆ Have you ever been embarrassed by something a family member did?◆ How do you react when someone gives you an unexpected gift?

First Reading (30–45 minutes)

Activity Summary: Students listen as the text is read aloud, marking places where they have questions.

Materials: Inquiry Log card (student handout) 3 First Reading card 5

Great Books Roundtable • Level 2

Unit Guide

50

Session 4 (30–40 minutes)

Shared Inquiry Discussion (30–40 minutes)

Activity Summary: Students explore the text’s meaning by discussing an interpretive question.

Materials: Discussion Planner card 2 Inquiry Log card (student handout) 3 Shared Inquiry Discussion card 9

Details: Suggested interpretive questions for discussion:

Option 1 Why does the narrator throw the white umbrella down a sewer?◆ Why does the narrator want the white umbrella so much?◆ Why does the narrator tell Miss Crosman that her mother is going to buy her a

white umbrella for Christmas?◆ Why does the narrator tell Miss Crosman she wishes Miss Crosman were her

mother?◆ Why doesn’t the narrator want her mother and sister to know about the white

umbrella?

Option 2 Why does the narrator insist on waiting for her mother outside in the rain?◆ Why doesn’t the narrator want Miss Crosman to know her mother is working?◆ Why does the narrator think that playing extra well will show Miss Crosman that

she doesn’t have to “feel sorry for me”? (p. 4)◆ Why does the narrator want to tell Miss Crosman that she is the school spelling

bee champion, that she isn’t ticklish, and that she can do karate?◆ During the ride home, why does the narrator tell her mother, “I wish you would

quit”? (p. 10)

Session 3 (40–50 minutes)

Second Reading (40–50 minutes)

Activity Summary: Students reread the selection and mark new things they notice.

Materials: Discussion Planner card 2 Inquiry Log card (student handout) 3 Second Reading card 8

Details: Use the following note:

N = You notice something new while rereading.

Suggested follow-up questions:◆ What new thing did you notice here? How does that change your understanding of

the story?

The White Umbrella

51Orientation Unit • The White Umbrella

Activities on the CD-ROM (instructions and approximate times provided on the CD-ROM)

Session 5

Expository Writing: Students deepen their understanding of the selection through the writing process.

Interpretive Essay Students write an essay supporting their interpretation of the selection.

Evaluative Essay Students write an essay based on an evaluative question. Have students choose one of their own or one of the following:◆ Should the narrator have accepted the white umbrella from Miss Crosman?◆ When is keeping a secret the right thing to do, and when is it the wrong thing

to do?

Creative Response: Students deepen their understanding of the selection with a creative response activity. Suggested for this unit: In a Character’s Shoes.

Curriculum Connections

Related Projects: Connect “The White Umbrella” to other subject areas.◆ Social Studies: Status Symbol Students make and compare lists of possessions

that give their owners prestige or power.◆ Social Studies: Immigration Oral History Students interview immigrants to

the United States (or their families).

Related Readings: Learn which well-known titles share themes, settings, or other important features with the selection.

Cross-Text Activities: Compare and contrast any combination of prose selections.

Wrapping Up the Unit

Assessment: Since this unit is meant to orient students to the Shared Inquiry process, formal assessment is not recommended. Instead, check for understanding as you conduct each session using the Student Learning Checklists on the activity cards.

Unit Guide

52 Great Books Roundtable • Level 2

1

THE WHITE UMBRELLA

Gish Jen

When I was twelve, my mother went to work without telling me or my little sister.

“Not that we need the second income.” The lilt of her accent drifted from the kitchen up to the top of the stairs, where Mona and I were listening.

“No,” said my father, in a barely audible voice. “Not like the Lee family.”

The Lees were the only other Chinese family in town. I remembered how sorry my parents had felt for Mrs. Lee when she started waitressing downtown the year before; and so when my mother began coming home late, I didn’t say anything, and tried to keep Mona from saying anything either.

“But why shouldn’t I?” she argued. “Lots of people’s mothers work.”

“Those are American people,” I said.“So what do you think we are? I can do the pledge of alle-

giance with my eyes closed.”

Notation Key

The icon indicates an example of a leader modeling confusion or curiosity during the first reading.

The icon indicates an example of a leader noting something new; the corresponding passage is [bracketed].

Blue-highlighted text indicates a passage rich with interpretive issues.

Yellow-highlighted words are suggested vocabulary words.

Underlined words may need to be briefly defined as you read aloud (definitions provided).

Modeling Curiosity“I wonder why the narrator feels she has to keep Mona from saying that their mother is at work. I’m going to put a question mark here.”

Orientation Unit • The White Umbrella 53

ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONSACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS

Part 1: Answering Basic Comprehension Questions

On the board, record students’ questions from the first reading (if you have not already done so). Invite students to add new questions they thought of.

If necessary, review the question types in the student anthology (pages xx–xxi; pages 42–43 in the Leader’s Edition). Help students answer important factual or background questions.

Help students identify any vocabulary questions on the class list and mark them for possible exploration in the Stage 2 vocabulary activity (card 21 ).

Part 2: Working Through Remaining Questions

Reproduce the Question Testing Chart (see side 4 of this card) on the board or an overhead transparency. With the class, fill it out using a question that arose during this activity.

Divide students into small groups and distribute double-sided copies of the Question Testing Chart. Assign each group one or more questions from those that have not yet been addressed. Circulate to help students as they generate answers and evidence for each question.

Ask each group for their conclusions about the types of questions they have and how they arrived at their conclusions. Add interesting questions to your Stage 2 Discussion Planner (card 17 ). If there is time, you may want to help students revise a few noninterpretive questions to make them interpretive (see the second Leaders Ask box on side 2 of this card).

Ask students to choose two questions that continue to puzzle or intrigue them (one interpretive and one evaluative or speculative) and record them in the Stage 2 Inquiry Log. Before the discussion, collect and review students’ logs to find out what questions they are most interested in pursuing.

Sharing Questions20

ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONSACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS

On the board, record students’ questions from the first reading activity (if you have not already done so). Invite students to add any new questions they thought of.

With students’ help, answer any factual or background questions that suggest difficulties with basic comprehension of the text (see the Leaders Ask box at the top of side 2). Tell students that they will hear the story again, so they need not answer all questions now.

Tell students that as they read and discuss Great Books Roundtable texts, they will have different types of questions that can be addressed in different ways. In Shared Inquiry discussion, you will focus on using interpretive questions to explore the text’s meaning. Tell students that these are questions that have more than one reasonable answer supported by evidence in the text.

Identify a possible interpretive question and lead students in testing it to see if it has more than one answer they can support with evidence (see the second Leaders Ask box on side 2). If time allows, identify and test another possible interpretive question. Record successfully tested questions in your Orientation Unit Discussion Planner (card 2 ) for possible use in the discussion.

If time allows, identify vocabulary questions on the class list and mark them for possible exploration in the Orientation Unit vocabulary activity (card 7 ).

Ask students to choose from the class list two questions that interest them (one of their own and one generated by a classmate) and write them in the Orientation Unit Inquiry Log. Let students know that before the discussion, you will collect and review their logs to find out what issues they are most interested in pursuing.

Sharing Questions6